Category: Opinion

In recent months, there’s been a lot of investment and business activity in the school and events photography space. Lifetouch and Jostens have both found new owners and, north of the border, long-standing Canadian firm Edge Imaging announced in late October Walter Capital Partners made a “significant investment” in the company, with the intention of building the Burlington, Ontario, company...
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As the fourth quarter gets underway, some major photo apps are getting in some updates. Following are some highlights of some popular apps: Google Photos Android Police reports Google Photos has added customized page layouts to its photobook offerings. Previously, page layouts were limited to one photo per page. “You can add up to four photos to each page and...
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The deals in the sports, schools and event photography space keep coming. On the heels of last week’s announcement of Walter Capital Partners investment into Ontario’s Edge Imaging, Newell Brands made good on their intention of divesting its Jostens memorabilia and yearbook company. Gross proceeds from the Jostens sale are expected to be approximately $1.3 billion; Jostens’ 2017 net sales were...
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During its fourth-quarter earnings call, Apple management announced, going forward, the company would not share unit sales data for any of its products. Analysts, investors and enthusiasts have traditionally followed iPhone unit sales as an indicator of Apple’s health, and management sent a signal this was no longer wanted. “Our product ranges for all the major product categories have become...
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Since it’s evolution from Mobile Photo Connect to “Visual 1st,” this annual fall conference has become a must-attend event for imaging-industry executives. An eclectic mix of retailers, labs, developers, suppliers, and investors gather each year at the Golden Gate Club to share ideas, to network and get a glimpse into the future of the imaging business. In addition to the...
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What should have been a pretty routine $25.3 million acquisition of CafePress by Snapfish has hit snag. A shareholder, Stephan Bushansky, has filed a class action suit naming CafePress the company and the management team as defendants. Bushansky’s suit cites several SEC violations, adding combination “will unlawfully divest CafePress’ public stockholders of the Company’s valuable assets without fully disclosing all material information concerning...
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The dark side of crowdfunding is the uncomfortable reality the project may not be funded and, in some case, backers can lose their money. In recent weeks, two Kickstarter projects highlight the problem. In the first example, PetaPixel recently confirmed what had been long rumored: Backers of a Meyer Optik Görlitz lens campaigns won’t see either their lens or their money...
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Eastman Kodak Co. is offering picture and movie digitization services under a licensing agreement with AMB Media LLC, the parent company of Legacybox and Southtree brands. Since its 2012 bankruptcy, Kodak has been actively seeking licensees for a wide range of consumer products, from fashionwear to consumer electronics. A full list is here. In the “About Us” section of the Kodak Digitizing...
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Hans Hartman of Suite 48a recently shared some insights from the recent Beyond smartphones and digital cameras – The Long Tail of Cameras survey, conducted a few months ago among 1,055 North American respondents who take at least 5 photos a month. As shown in the chart above, 63% of the respondents or their partner own a digital camera, showing there is still healthy...
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Google Photos has added a new feature for automatically gathering photos into albums for sharing. According to the blog post, Google Photos can turn any album into a live album. The user simply chooses the people or pets, and Google Photos will automatically add photos of these subjects to the album as they happen. Live albums are rolling out now...
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There’s a nearly endless stream of photography podcasts in the world – including our own – but we recently found out our friend, MH Rubin, of neomodern, has launched a new one, “Everyday Photography (Every Day).” Available on iTunes, Google Play and Soundcloud, the podcast features a short discussion by photographer Rubin and “regular human” Suzanne Fritz-Hanson with an eye on making pictures amazing. No...
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Struggling Louisville ecommerce retailer CafePress will be acquired by Snapfish for a stock deal worth about $25.3 million (17.1 million shares at $1.48 per share). According to the announcement, CafePress will remain in Louisville. Founded in 1999 by Fred Dunham and Maheesh Jain in California, CafePress has worked to improve profitability and spur growth after several tough years, according to company reports....
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CaptureLife, the professional photo app, announced on the company blog, announced a partnership with Fujifilm North America Corp. where Fuijifilm will provide fulfillment services for photo-printing products, as well as ship-to-store capability to Fujifilm’s retail customers (Walmart, Costco, Walgreens, and Sam’s Club). The announcement is the latest in a series of deals the company has arranged in the sports, schools and event...
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In a flashback to the launch of the Four-Thirds standard a decade ago, Panasonic, Leica and Sigma are at again, with the launch of L-Mount Alliance, billed as “universal lens mount” based on Leica’s own mount. In the press release shown before, Panasonic is exhibiting prototypes at photokina. Leica already has three cameras and numerous L-Mount lenses. Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki announced the company was...
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IPI Member Network (IPI) has moved its annual Internationa Printing and Imaging Conference from its customary July timeframe to March 2-4, 2019. The location remains the M Resort in Henderson, Nev. IPI’s Director of Member Success, Brenda DiVencenzo, told The Dead Pixels Society the change came after a survey of members and supplying partners showed a preference for a spring event....
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